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Her pulse quickened as she moved closer to his workstation, Vessa and Jalen flanking her. She hadn't expected results this quickly, but Pax struck her as exactly the type of person who wouldn't rest until he'd solved a puzzle that had captured his attention.

"Show me what you've discovered," she said, settling into the chair beside his desk.

Pax's fingers flew across his control panel, bringing up a series of documents that materialized in the air between them. The displays showed wage reports, shipping manifests, and communication logs, all cross-referenced with timestamps and authorization codes.

"Look at this," he said, highlighting specific sections with precise movements. "There was definitely a coordinated effort to falsify the wage records. See these authorization codes? They're legitimate, but they were used to make changes that never actually went through the proper approval process."

Amara leaned forward, studying the evidence with growing excitement. The pattern was subtle but unmistakable once Pax pointed it out—a carefully orchestrated campaign designed to make it appear as though Raxen had been systematically underpaying his workers.

"And the shipping manifests?" she prompted.

"Even more interesting." Pax pulled up another set of documents, his voice gaining confidence as he explained what he found. "Someone has been doctoring these for months, making it look like shipments were going missing or being delayed due to mismanagement. But when I cross-referenced them with the actual delivery records..."

He paused dramatically, clearly savoring the moment.

"The shipments were arriving exactly on schedule. Someone was just making it look like they weren't."

A systematic campaign to destroy Raxen's reputation from the inside.

The pieces were falling into place with terrifying clarity. This wasn't random incompetence or isolated incidents of corruption. Someone had been laying the groundwork for this crisis for months, possibly years.

"Who had access to make these changes?" she asked, though part of her already suspected the answer would be devastating.

Pax's expression grew troubled. "That's where it gets really concerning. Based on the authorization codes and access logs, it appears that Leon Mitchell—the head of our labor union—and Sori Sol, our trade route operations manager, may have been colluding together."

The words hit the small group like blows. Vessa went completely pale, her hand flying to her chest as if she'd been struck. Jalen's jaw clenched, his protective instincts clearly warring with disbelief at what they were hearing.

Sori? Raxen's own cousin?

The betrayal was almost too devastating to comprehend. Family turning against family, using trust as a weapon to destroy everything Raxen had worked to build.

"This can't be happening," Vessa whispered, swaying slightly on her feet.

Amara immediately moved to steady her, wrapping a supportive arm around Vessa’s shoulders. Through their brief but growing friendship, she'd come to understand how deeply Vessa cared for her family and her territory. Discovering that someone they'd trusted had been systematically undermining them would be like discovering a knife in her back.

"Vessa, we need to get you back to the estate," Amara said firmly, recognizing the signs of someone about to collapse from shock.

"How did I not see this?" Vessa's voice cracked with anguish. "How did we miss something this extensive? I work with these people every day. I trusted them."

Just like I trusted Logan and Tabitha.

The parallel sent a chill down Amara's spine. The same pattern of betrayal, the same exploitation of trust and proximity, the same systematic destruction of someone's reputation and livelihood. The only difference was the scale—this conspiracy threatened not just one person's career, but the stability of an entire planet.

"Vessa, listen to me," Pax said gently, his analytical mind shifting into comfort mode. "They hid this really well. No one could have found it if they weren't digging as deep as I was. The authorization codes were legitimate, the timestamps were believable, and they spread the changes out over months to avoid detection. This wasn't your fault."

Jalen stepped forward, his protective instincts fully engaged. "We need to get back to Raxen immediately. He needs to see this evidence."

"I'll drive you there," Pax offered, already gathering the data tablets and evidence files into a secure case. "This information is too important to risk losing."

As they made their way out of the security center and toward Pax's vehicle, Amara's mind raced through the implications. Raxen would be devastated to learn that people he'd trusted—especially his own cousin—had been orchestrating his downfall. The betrayal would cut deep, reopening wounds from his father's assassination and confirming his worst fears about vulnerability and trust.

But so many questions remained unanswered. Why would Sori betray her own family? What did she and Leon stand to gain from Raxen's destruction? And most importantly—were they acting alone, or was someone else pulling the strings?

Money, power, politics? There has to be a bigger motive.

The drive back to the estate passed in tense silence, broken only by Vessa's occasional murmured questions about how they'd missed the signs. Amara found herself thinking about her own experience with betrayal, how Logan and Tabitha had used her trust against her, how they'd systematically dismantled her reputation while maintaining perfect facades of friendship and love.

But I ran. I let them win because I was too hurt to fight back.